Farmer-owned co-operative, First Milk, has announced that it has successfully certified as a B Corporation (or B Corp).

First Milk, owners of the Lake District Creamery at Aspatria, has a well-established sustainability programme based on its co-operative values, which includes the UK dairy industry’s largest regenerative farming programme, as well as ambitious net zero targets.

B Corp certification is a rigorous process, which addresses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers.

There are more than 6,000 B Corps certified globally, and the B Corp community in the UK includes more than 1,100 companies.

Shelagh Hancock, chief executive, said: “Our successful certification as a B Corp is recognition of our hard work around sustainability and regenerative thinking and will be an important part of our journey in the future.

"We join an extensive worldwide community of like-minded organisations with shared values, and this development will help us communicate our story more effectively to our growing stakeholder base, inspiring future action as we work to deliver our vision of enriching life every day to secure the future.”